Danni had an MRI scan

Simon Boguszewski March 27 at 5:12pm Reply
Yesterday Danni had an MRI scan – the first time any of us had seen it done with a lion. We were offered the use of a veterinary MRI scanner free of charge by Burgess Diagnostics to have a better look at Dannis back and legs. In Romania his mobility had been very poor, not helped by the cold, wet and lack of proper bedding. He seemed to have improved somewhat since he had been in Yorkshire, which seemed encouraging but we still didn’t know what was behind the problem. Nic Masters from the International Zoo Vet Group came to the Park for the operation and the diagnostics were carried out by Mike Targett, who is the Associate Professor from the Nottingham School of Veterinary Medicine and Science and a specialist in neurology. Danny was not really impressed to see Nic again – he knew what was coming when he saw the dart gun again and indignantly pulled out the first dart but was soon fast asleep. Four members of YWP staff carried him on a stretcher to the articulated lorry that contained the scanner where Mike and Nic got to work. The pictures were fascinating – as was the sight of a lion in a scanner. Mike and Nic will be analysing the detailed images of his spine and we will await their report next week. By 9 pm Danni was sitting up – and by this morning he was quite back to his normal self. He won’t be the last of the lions to see a specialist – some of the other lions will be having a visit from the specialist animal dentist soon.
The lion enclosure will not be ready for Easter - despite the contractors best efforts it was impossible to make up the 5 weeks lost because of the snow. We are trying to publicise this as widely as possible so that people aren’t disappointed on arrival. but there will be a special offer of 50% off a return visit, so our Easter guests will be able to come back and see the lions when they are on view.